


one more sleep.

by pyroallerdyce



Series: i refuse to admit there was a beach divorce (aka all my charles/erik fics) [79]
Category: X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe – Modern Setting, Alternate Universe – Modern: No Powers, Alternate Universe – No Powers, Bisexual Character, Bisexual Male Character, Children, Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Movies, December writing challenge, Established Relationship, Gay Character, Gay Male Character, Holidays, Inspired by Music, M/M, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill, Relationship(s), Short One Shot, Tumblr Prompt, Wordcount: 1.000-3.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:54:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21932566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyroallerdyce/pseuds/pyroallerdyce
Summary: 5 more nights of sleeping on my own4 more days until you're coming home3 more wishes I can barely breatheIf I can make it to Christmas EveThen it's one more sleepor:  Erik's a single father and his relationship with Charles is going strong.  When Charles is invited to spend Christmas Eve with the whole family, Erik realizes that Charles belongs there all the time.
Relationships: Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier
Series: i refuse to admit there was a beach divorce (aka all my charles/erik fics) [79]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1202509
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35
Collections: December Writing Challenge - 2019





	one more sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas Eve from the artist formerly known as porcelainsimplicity. 'tis still me, just a different username.
> 
> Day 24 of my December writing challenge. Prompt by lillie-writes on Tumblr. I hope you enjoy.
> 
> Day 24 prompt: “You can wait another 24 hours to open presents.”  
> Day 24 title song: One More Sleep by Leona Lewis (this was chosen way for its title than its lyrics)
> 
> It feels like hardly anyone is reading these stories of mine, but that's okay. Massive thanks if you are though.

Being a single father was difficult and challenging.

Erik had been one for a while now, but some days it still felt like that first day when he'd gotten full custody of the twins and they'd been upset because they were being taken away from their mother. It took a few months to make them realize that their lives would be significantly better now, that Erik wasn't going to just sit around and drink all day and pay no attention to them, but they finally settled in and began to enjoy themselves. 

He'd thought that his girlfriend was going to be a massive help with them, but that had all gone to shit not long after the twins moved in. She'd announced that she was pregnant right before telling Erik she wanted nothing to do with him, and when Nina was born, she'd turned into a nightmare, and after a year of back and forth, Erik had full custody of her. 

Then Erik had a one-year-old daughter and eleven-year-old twins to deal with. It had been more than overwhelming. But Erik figured it out because he had to. He would do absolutely anything for those three kids, and now that it was five years later, he felt like things were the way that things should be.

Yet there was something that was still missing.

There was a gigantic hole in Erik's life and he couldn't quite find anyone to fit in it. He tried with a few women, and then he tried with a few men, and after a while, he pretty much gave up. He would be alone for the rest of his life, and that would be that.

It was when Erik took the children to the recreational center's indoor pool that he realized that he really didn't have to be alone. The twins knew how to swim but Nina didn't, so she was put in lessons. Her instructor was gorgeous, and Erik had a hard time keeping his hands to himself when he spoke to Charles after every lesson was over. Charles would be standing there dripping wet, his swim trunks clinging to his body and showing off pretty much everything, and Erik couldn't help but stare. He was hoping that Charles didn't notice, but he knew that he had, and Erik decided that he really needed to apologize for that. Every time he went to apologize, however, Charles would start flirting with him shamelessly, and Erik would get sidetracked by flirting back.

And then came the day that Charles told him the lessons were over, and Erik realized that he'd probably never see Charles again. He couldn't let that happen. He stumbled through asking him to dinner, which just made Charles smile and laugh before saying yes. He'd pretty much stumbled through their first date too, which just made Charles call him adorable. But Erik eventually calmed down and the dinners became more frequent, and after three months, Erik was starting to think that Charles might be the one to fill that hole in his life quite nicely.

He had to think of the children though. He couldn't make that decision too quickly. They knew that Erik and Charles had been going on dates, but Erik had kept Charles away from them because he needed to be absolutely sure that Charles was someone that he wanted around his children. Peter finally called him out on that during dinner one night, telling Erik that they all already knew and liked Charles and that having him around wasn't going to be a bad thing. Wanda and Nina agreed with Peter, and Erik realized that they were right.

So Erik invited Charles to dinner that Sunday, and then the Sunday after that, and then the Sunday after that. Erik stopped inviting him after a while when it just became a natural assumption that Charles would be coming over for dinner on Sunday, and Erik felt warmth spread through him as he watched Charles interact with his children.

Yeah, Charles might fill that hole in his life quite nicely.

Christmas Eve was on a Sunday that year, and Charles decided that he wouldn't come over to let Erik and the children enjoy the holiday by themselves. When they found out Charles wasn't going to be there, loud protests went around the table and so on the phone that night, Erik asked if Charles would please join them for dinner that night. Besides, it had been nearly nine months of dating Charles. Having him around for dinner on Christmas Eve might be appropriate.

Charles arrived Christmas Eve with presents in his hands, and Nina started jumping up and down the moment she saw them. “Presents! You brought presents!”

Charles smiled at her and nodded. “Of course I did. Let me get my coat off and then you can help me put them under the tree.”

Nina nodded enthusiastically. “Okay!”

Charles set the presents on the stairs while he took his coat off, hanging it up near the door and reaching for the presents again. He crouched down to Nina's level and smiled when he saw the excitement in her eyes. “How about you take the present on the top and carry it over to the tree for me?”

“Okay!” Nina reached out and took it, hugging it to her while Charles stood back up. 

“Lead the way, Miss Nina,” Charles said, and Nina practically ran into the room with the Christmas tree. 

Charles noticed that the menorah by the window was lit appropriately and after setting the presents down, he turned to find Erik standing there watching them. “Did I interrupt the menorah traditions? I didn't mean to if I did.”

“No, Charles, that's over now,” Erik said, walking into the room and kissing him. “You got here just after.”

Charles smiled and gave him another kiss. “I know it's not your holiday, Erik, but Merry Christmas.”

“It's part of my holiday now because of the children,” Erik said. “Merry Christmas to you as well.”

Erik turned and started walking towards the kitchen, so Charles followed him, ready to help with dinner as always. “How did you decide to celebrate Christmas with the children? I would have thought you'd stick to only Hanukkah.”

“The twins were ten when they came to live with me permanently, and they were used to celebrating Christmas with their mother,” Erik explained. “I didn't want to take that away from them, so I figured out how to put on Christmas for them but also mix my Hanukkah traditions into it. So we've celebrated a hybrid of the two holidays ever since.”

“I think that's wonderful,” Charles said, laughing when Erik pulled pre-cooked, packaged lasagna from the freezer. “That's dinner? I thought we'd be cooking something special.”

Erik just shook his head. “Oh no. We go the easy route on Christmas Eve. I've got entirely too much to do after the kids go to bed to want to deal with a lot of pots and pans.”

“That makes sense,” Charles said as Nina ran into the kitchen.

“Charles, will you read me the Night Before Christmas?”

Charles looked over at Erik and he nodded, so Charles took Nina's hand and let her lead him back into the living room. They sat down on the sofa and Charles opened up the book, reading it to her and smiling at her excitement. When the book was finished, Nina wanted him to read it again, but Charles had another idea.

“Is the elf still watching you?” he asked.

Nina nodded. “Yes, he is. He moved again though.”

“Will you show me where he moved?”

Nina was up off the sofa in a flash. “He's in the dining room!”

Charles stood up and followed her, finding the Elf on a Shelf poised on the window sill. “Santa wants to watch over dinner tonight then. One last check to make sure you're good enough to get some presents.”

“That's what Daddy said.”

“You better be on your best behavior during dinner,” Charles said, knowing that Nina sometimes acted up at the table. “Promise me that you will.”

“I promise,” Nina said, smiling when she heard someone coming down the stairs. 

Charles turned as Nina ran out of the room, following her to find Peter and Wanda almost at the bottom of the stairs, presents in their hands. Nina started jumping up and down again, and Wanda just shook her head. “Nina, calm down or Santa isn't going to bring you any presents. In fact, he might take these away.”

Nina immediately quieted down and Wanda looked up at Charles with a smile. The twins were sixteen now and Erik had told him that they knew that Santa Claus was nothing more than a myth, but they wouldn't ruin things for Nina. Charles thought about how he knew it was a myth before Raven did, and how he kept quiet for her sake, and his heart warmed knowing that the twins were doing the same for their sister.

Charles and the children sat in the living room watching a variety show of popular singers performing Christmas songs while Erik worked on getting dinner ready, and once it was, everyone made their way into the dining room and gathered at the table. The conversation was all about Christmas, and soon they were talking about when they thought Santa Claus might come. 

“I don't think Santa Claus will come until you're all in bed,” Charles said. “Santa Claus does not like to be seen.”

“But I want to see him!” Nina exclaimed.

“He won't come here if he thinks he'll be seen,” Erik said, shaking his head when Nina looked up at him. “And you are not allowed to sleep on the sofa tonight just hoping to catch a glimpse of him anyway.”

Nina pouted. “I really want to see him, Daddy. Can't I please come down and see him?”

“If you try to sneak down here to see Santa, I will make sure that he takes all your presents away,” Erik said seriously. 

Nina pouted some more. “I won't come down, Daddy. I promise.”

“Good girl,” Erik murmured, and the conversation turned back to Christmas once again.

When dinner was over, Charles and the children went back into the living room after Erik said he'd deal with the dishes. Nina started squealing again when she saw all the presents under the tree. Erik was watching from the kitchen as she jumped up and down, and when she turned towards Charles, Erik couldn't help but break out into a smile as he saw the exchange.

“Charles, can I please open a present now? Oh, please, oh, please, oh please!”

Charles crouched down to her level. “I opened a present on Christmas Eve once, and you know what? When I woke up the next morning, Santa hadn't come to bring me more. I know it's hard because there are lots of presents there already, but you can do this. You can wait another 24 hours to open presents.”

“Actually, it'll be more like 10,” Peter chimed in from the sofa. “So you won't even have to wait that long, Nina.”

Charles looked over at Erik and they smiled at each other. “Peter's right. You won't even have to wait that long.”

Nina pouted and Wanda just shook her head. “Come on, Nina. I don't want Santa not to come. Don't ruin it for the rest of us.”

Nina huffed but nodded. “I will wait.”

“Good,” Peter said firmly. “Now come watch Rudolph with us. I know it's your favorite.”

Nina brightened and ran over to the sofa, sitting down next to Peter as Charles stood up and headed into the kitchen. Erik pulled Charles to him once he was close enough, giving him a deep kiss. “Thank you for handling that. You did it better than I have been doing all day.”

“I just did what felt natural to me,” Charles said. “I don't know anything about how to be a father, so I'm glad that I did it right.”

“Charles, you're a natural father,” Erik said seriously. “The way you interact with my children means a lot to me.”

Charles smiled at him. “The fact that you let me interact with them means a lot to me.”

Erik smiled as the children started singing along with the movie in the living room, giving Charles another kiss before turning back to the dishes. “What are you and Raven doing on Christmas since visiting your parents isn't an option this year?”

Charles sighed heavily. “Raven told me two days ago that she has decided to take up her friends' offer and go skiing in Colorado with them, so I am going to be spending Christmas alone in my apartment.”

The moment Erik heard that, he made a decision. “Would you like to spend Christmas with us?”

“I don't want to disrupt your Christmas, Erik. I'll be fine.”

“You wouldn't disrupt our Christmas, Charles.” Erik reached for him again. “My children love you. I love you. You would make our Christmas better.”

Charles broke out into a grin. “You love me?”

Erik nodded. “I'm not sure that was really the right way to tell you that, but yes, I love you.”

“It was perfect,” Charles murmured, pulling Erik into a kiss. “And I love you too.”

Erik grinned back at him. “Then please come spend Christmas with us.”

“You're sure?”

“I'm sure.”

“Then I would love to spend Christmas with you, Erik.”

“Do you mind coming over really early because I know the children will be up by five, though I won't let them come downstairs until it's six.”

Charles took a deep breath, knowing that this was something they'd never done before but thinking it was more practical this way. “Would it be better if I just stayed the night?”

Erik smiled and nodded. “I think that's a great idea.”

“Then I'll go home once the children are in bed, get some things, and come back.”

“It makes me happy that you're willing to do that for my family.”

“I'd do anything for you all, Erik. You're my family too.”

Nina came running into the kitchen before Erik could respond. “Daddy, can I have a candy cane?”

“You can have one tomorrow when we are opening presents,” Erik said. “You shouldn't have that much sugar before bedtime. You'll never sleep.”

Nina started to pout again, but Charles crouched down before she could say a word. “Remember that the elf is watching, Nina. Santa wouldn't like all this pouting.”

Nina immediately stopped and went running back into the living room, and they could hear her tell Wanda that she wanted to watch Frosty the Snowman next. Erik gave Charles another kiss when he stood up. “Thank you for that.”

“I tried.”

“You did wonderfully,” Erik said, turning back to the sink for a moment before shaking his head. “Those can wait until after the children are in bed. How about we go watch Frosty with them?”

Charles smiled. “I think that's a great idea.”

Once the movie had started, Erik looked around the living room and smiled. The twins were sitting on the floor, Peter still for once and Wanda miraculously not on her phone, and Nina was sitting in Charles's lap, totally engrossed in the movie that was playing. She snuggled closer to Charles and he wrapped his arms around her, and Erik knew without a doubt that he'd finally found the one to fit into the hole in his life.

Everything was perfect now.


End file.
